I am utterly convinced that there is some bad juju going around. Almost every one of my online friends is struggling. It has to get better, right?

And if anybody reading is in good with God/Allah/leprechauns/The Green Man/Cthulhu/WHOEVER, could you please ask for a break? Just a few days where nothing goes wrong? That would be great, thanks.

And while you're at it, let my in-the-flesh friends know that if they dust me *one more damned time* for guys, I'm going t...well, I dunno, but it's hurting my feelings. *Three times* within two weeks, y'all. What is wrong with these women? Don't they know that poker night is sacred?

A few years ago, a Chinese friend* told me that in her culture's traditional mythology, the year between your 29th and 30th birthdays is the biggest time of change in your entire life. That there are transitions and decisions to be made that affect how your entire midlife will go.

If that's the case, I'm clearly screwed.

Last week I was far too busy with work to carefully go through my car and figure out what was stolen. Now that I've had the chance, here's the running list:

*About $250 worth of CDs, including two I had autographed by the band up in Vancouver.
*My favorite jacket, with an expensive, lacy bra tucked into the pocket (purely for comfort, I assure you).
*A ball of Kureyon. WHO STEALS YARN??
*The Simpsons, Season Two.
*My digital camera.

Grr. Grrrr. Frickin' frackin' CRAP! All told, this is about $1000 worth of goodies. It also makes for the second digital camera I've lost this year, and explains why I haven't uploaded new pix of the mitered square bag for you. Oh, and now I can't *finish* the bag until I buy more yarn. Grumble grumble grr.

ANYWAY.

Tomorrow Momma Guerin is having a party to celebrate the equinox. (A very "her" thing to do.) We're all taking goodies, and my donation is chipotle dip with jicama sticks. Into a food processor, toss:

The garlic and chilies are adjustable; I like this very spicy for dipping with veggies. It gets hotter and more garlicky the longer it sits, so keep that in mind. I make this for emergencies, because I always have the staples around. Is it weird to have a container of chipotles in my fridge at all times? Or two kinds of yogurt? Don't answer until you've popped open a beer, dipped into the bowl with some jicama, and watched a playoff game with me. Once the playoffs start, it's ON.

*And by this I mean serious Chinese; she was born and raised in Hong Kong.